Floris

As I was thinking about all the ways that NTS’s commenter was wrong about dismissing perfume samples (if you don’t know what I refer to, see my previous post – Math Revised: A Minus and a Plus Make a … Plus), I became curious what role samples played in my perfume life.

In my earlier perfume years there were not that many samples available in general. So unless I got a sample by some miracle or from the previous purchase, I kept returning to the counter to re-try the perfume I thought of buying. Usually it worked – unless I waited for too long hoping to find that perfume later on a discounter site only to see it discontinued (I missed this way the original Kate Spade perfume that I liked). But even after I would buy perfume, I liked having a sample as well – to take it with me when traveling: I kept refilling those sample bottles from my bottle (it was before decanting supplies became common).

Over years I decreased the number of samples I buy: I try to get them from stores, brands’ sites or do friendly swaps with other perfumistas. But sometimes I get tempted by some perfume that I just can’t get – then I pay. I do not do it too often: not even because I want to save money (though that too: all those samples quickly build up to a full bottle price), but also because I noticed that once I paid for a sample, if I dislike it, my disappointment with it is much stronger than when I smell it “for free.”

But free or paid for, perfume samples made significant impact on my perfume collection: I counted only original bottles (of any size); and in my estimate more than a third of my current favorites found its way to me through sampling perfumes to which I might have never got access otherwise.

Honey Oud by Floris got into my testing queue by pure chance: since I don’t like agarwood and usually don’t like honey, I would have never ordered this sample by choice or even tried this perfume at a store (not that Floris is available in stores around but just to make a point). But while I was on a perfume subscription boxes kick, I bought one from the Perfume Society. Honey and Oud was one of the samples in that box.

Honey Oud surprised me. I don’t smell agarwood – at least not its usual punch-in-the-nose medicinal aspect. The honey in this perfume does not turn urinous on my skin as it often does. In general, it’s so smoothly blended that none of the ingredients are prominent enough for me to notice (but if anybody wants to know, the complete list is: honey, bergamot, patchouli, rose, agarwood, amber, labdanum, musk and vanilla). Alright, I have to admit: I can smell vanilla.

Two ingredients that I usually do not like in my perfumes came together nicely in Honey Oud to create a beautiful and warm amber-y composition that I enjoy wearing. Minus and minus resulted in plus. Q.E.D.

I’m thinking: should I try something with tuberose and cumin next?

Images: my own

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The second week of the Month of Roses went very fast because it included a 3-day weekend (I took an extra day off to celebrate my birthday) and Valentine’s Day. Rose perfumes felt extremely appropriate.

February 8:Floris Snow Rose

Since Vanessa (Bonkers about Perfume) mentioned in her comment on my A Month of Roses post that her bottle of this perfume, from which my sample came, went off, I felt uneasy as the date scheduled for wearing Snow Rose was approaching: I had just a little of perfume left in the sample after the previous testing, so I didn’t want to try it before the time to wear it came, so I decided to risk having to look for the last moment replacement. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to! I don’t know how it could have happened but a small part somehow had a better fate than a “whole” (whatever was left in Vanessa’s bottle).

I feel bad telling you what an interesting perfume Snow Rose is since it was a limited edition in 2009, and it doesn’t look like they are going to re-issue it. But I want to mention something that attracted my attention: it started out cold and very fitting to the name, but then it melted into very warm and cozy scent.

February 9:Les Parfums de Rosine Rose Praline(Francois Robert)

I had a couple of meetings in a small conference room so I was very discreet with the application. It’s not a bad perfume, and I might even finish my small decant but with many other great perfumes I have Rose Pralines seems a little too ordinary. I would still recommend trying this perfume if you’re looking for rose perfume with just a pinch of gourmand flavor.

February 10:Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady (Dominique Ropion)

Portrait of a Lady is one of my favorite perfumes. Normally I wouldn’t wear it to the office but since Lucas chose a work day for hajusuuri to wear this perfume, I was going to keep her company. But then I couldn’t help the urge to wear my favorite Lieber Gustav for the NTS’s community project (lavender perfumes): not only I love it but it’s much more office-friendly.

I still wore Portrait of a Lady that evening when I came home. It is such strong and elegant perfume! I think it calls for evening attire and pearls, though it might be an interesting contrast to jeans with a turtleneck – just not in the office.

February 11:Juliette Has A Gun Miss Charming (Francis Kurkdjian)

It was a perfect charming perfume for a pre-birthday trip on a beautiful sunny day to a couple of wineries, a brewery and a coffee shop in Santa Cruz. As I previously wrote, Miss Charming is my absolutely favorite strawberry perfume. I enjoy wearing it on any occasion but that Saturday it was just perfect, and it accompanied well roses that were on my mind, cider with a distinct rose flavor that I tried during lunch and my favorite rose truffles that I had with coffee from my favorite coffee shop.

February 12:Ormonde Jayne Ta’if (Geza Schoen)

Ta’if is perfume, to which I attribute to my nosedive into the proverbial rabbit hole of niche perfumery. I love this perfume and think of it as my number two all-time favorite. It is so special for me that I wear it only for special occasion – such as my birthday this year. I started my morning with Ta’if oil, then later during the day switched to Ta’if EdP, and for the evening I went with Ta’if parfum. It is such a beautiful rose! I need to come up with more special occasions to wear it.

February 13:Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud (Fabrice Pellegrin)

Judging by the fact that I like this perfume, no real trees had to suffer to produce this agarwood. Velvet Rose & Oud is pleasant and plays nicely on my skin. And Jo Malone just started selling their Cologne Intense collection in slightly more reasonable 50 ml bottles. If they ever go for 30 ml, I’ll probably get it. Until then my small decant should do.

February 14:Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Amour

I chose this perfume because I like it very much, and because I thought it would be hard to find a more suitable name for Valentine’s Day perfume. This is one of a few aldehydes perfumes that work for me. It’s a bright beautiful rose, for which I can see myself buying the next bottle when my current one is empty – it’s not something that I can definitively say about too many perfumes in my collection.

With the extra day off and then Valentine’s Day, half of the third week just ran away from me, but I don’t want to crumble extra three days into this post – so February 15-17 will appear on the Week 3 post.

How was your week? Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Or Singles Awareness Day? Did you wear any rose perfumes recently since you commented on one of the previous posts in this Month of Roses series? Did you eat any good chocolate?